The good, super fun folks at Pollen published this neat piece on Numad Matt today. You'll get a glimpse into life as a Numad, and how he connects people in the Upper Midwest region.

Matt Ehlman doesn’t really want you to meet him. He wants you to meet everybody else. He’d rather you connect face-to-face with the nonprofits, business owners, musicians, politicians, university presidents, and other folks in the Black Hills of South Dakota, around the United States, and across the seas that he works to bring together. Because, remember: people really are hungry to become a part of something that’s good. And when they join in, communities become better, stronger places.

— from "Notes for New Nomads" by Pollen

Friends and family here on the East Coast always ask me what South Dakota is like. Or why I like traveling there for work. This, folks, is why.

It is because of people like Matt, and Andrea Schaefer of Barefoot Dance Studios, Julie Cohen and Meghan Murphy from Pollen, Ken Steinken from Trinity Eco Prayer Park, and Kristina Barker from Kristina Barker Photography. It is because of the passionate people who are creatively investing their time and energy into the region so that communities flourish.